Despite leading the 2022–23 Premier League standings for 248 days, Arsenal’s loss to Nottingham Forest saw the end of their title hopes.
Under manager Mikel Arteta, the North London team has completely changed this season, but they still have a long way to go before they can once again contend with England’s top teams.
With this season’s third-in-a-row victory, Manchester City has now won three straight league championships, and several clubs, including Arsenal, will surely try to not let them get away again next season.
No transfers: Keep important players at the club
Because of such a strong campaign, interest in some of Arteta’s key team players may arise when the summer transfer window opens, but Arsenal should be taking precautions to protect its key players.
Martin Odegaard‘s contract negotiations are about to begin, while a new agreement has been reached with impressive forward Bukayo Saka. The Gunners are also hoping that William Saliba will receive a contract extension.
This season, Arsenal’s success has been largely down to their improved offence, which has seen 10 or more goals scored by Gabriel Martinelli, Saka, Odegaard, and Gabriel Jesus. The youthful backline, which consists of Ben White, Saliba, Gabriel, and Aaron Ramsdale, who just signed a new contract, has also outperformed expectations.
Reconstructing the Central midfield
Odegaard has done an outstanding job of linking the midfield and attack throughout the season, while Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey were reliable for the majority of the title run before things started to go wrong.
However, there are Xhaka and Partey substitutes available, and Arsenal must give this position much more attention during the summer transfer window.
Declan Rice meets the description of a world-beating central midfielder, and the reward of securing Champions League play for the first time since 2016 will make the Gunners a much more appealing alternative for him.
Even with January’s arrival of Jorginho, the departure of Xhaka and Partey make this summer a good opportunity to gain some midfield support.
Attract and sign on a top goal scorer
Gabriel Jesus is a brilliant attacker, but Arsenal has to add more firepower if they are to overpower City. Maybe someone who produces similar results to Erling Haaland?
The Brazilian forward managed to score 10 goals and provide assists for another six in his debut season in north London, despite missing a significant portion of the season due to an injury sustained at the World Cup.
The Gunners let up two-goal leads in consecutive games against Liverpool and West Ham in May, which served as an example of their lack of ruthless finishing, which means Arsenal would be wise to look around the market this summer.
Central defence
Saliba missed Arsenal’s defeat because he was injured in their Europa League match against Sporting CP in the second leg. Before Jakub Kiwior’s arrival in January, Rob Holding initially took his place.
Although Holding and Kiwior are both capable defenders in their own right, there is an undoubtedly large difference in talent between the two of them and Saliba, and Arsenal’s results have suffered as a result.
Saliba and Gabriel, who are a capable defensive duo for Arsenal and are both only 22 and 25 years old, respectively, have already shown they can work well together. But if one of them is absent, the squad’s depth becomes a concern.
Just contrast the defensive choices available to champions City with those of Arsenal, who lack players like Ruben Dias, John Stones, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, and Aymeric Laporte. Arsenal and any other championship contenders will need to make up that margin in the upcoming season.
